The DAP Project

The DAP foundation (Stichting DAP) was initiated in 2008 by students and alumni at the department of Geoscience & Engineering and aims to provide the TU Delft with a sustainable heat source through the realization of a geothermal well on the campus, with the help of several partners from the energy industry. In 2009, DAP acquired an exploration license for the Delft area, in which 4 geothermal wells of 2500 m depth have by now been realized by pioneering greenhouse companies Ammerlaan and Duijvestijn.

Furthermore, Stichting DAP seeks to promote the general use of geothermal energy for heating and energy production in the Netherlands by generating and disseminating knowledge for research, education and development. DAP assists greenhouse enterprises in the area with the development of their geothermal initiatives and has an advisory role to municipalities and the provincial council with respect to geothermal energy.
At the present time, Stichting DAP is an organisation, outside of the university, which represents a group of industrial parties and alumni with an interest in geothermal energy. They are able to financially efficiently receive sponsorship (i.e. with a tax benefit to the sponsors), which is then typically used to fund students and research at TU Delft in geothermal energy.

This years edition

Urban Heating: Risks & RewardsIntegrating cities with geothermal energy.
We are happy to announce this years edition of the DAP Symposium will take place on March 12, 2019.
This year’s symposium will focus on the challenges and opportunities of supplying urban areas with geothermal energy. Currently, in The Netherlands, there exist several successful geothermal projects that are producing heat for greenhouses located in rural areas. With the allocation of a significant subsidy towards TU Delft in 2017, and the recent decision-in-principle from the university board to realise a geothermal well (known as DAPwell), the TU campus can and will be a pioneering project in the area of ‘urban geothermal heating’. As today’s technology is improving, more opportunities arise to move the geothermal wells closer to the urban areas, where a high demand for heat is everlasting and large opportunities await.
The aim of this year’s symposium is to create awareness of the difficulties and the potential benefits of supplying urban areas with geothermal heat. The symposium intends to look into both technological and policy-based barriers, and seeks to promote new techniques that enable urban geothermal energy, and allow geothermal energy to compete within today’s energy market.

History of the DAP Symposium

Every two years a geothermal symposium is organised in Delft by the students of Applied Earth Science. The latest developments of geothermal energy will be discussed by speakers from all over the world. The symposium is always visited by students, researchers and companies and is therefore a good opportunity for social networking.